21st Century Skills: Literacy-Based Learning in Academic Debate Classes for University Students

Abstract

In today's economic-driven community, the trend of education is to prepare the students more than social and numerical skills. The trend in the future requires more complex demands related to the students' skills, ranging from literacy and self-autonomy to collaboration ability with others to solve problems. This issue is closely related to the policy-making process in higher education which should concern with the integration of foundational literacies related to core skills in everyday life to the curriculum development, that each course should promote foundational literacies and relate the classroom activities to the application in the real world in the form of meaningful learning and authentic approaches. This case study was conducted to observe the debating practices in language classroom, particularly the action research for the implementation of literacy-based learning through integrated instructional strategies in speaking for academic debate class whether to certain extend it has prepared the students to the expected 21 st Century skills. Through classroom observation and reflective discussion, students demonstrate substantial progress both in communication competence in advocacy, the awareness of recent issues, and fulfill the required 21 st Century skills.